ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD
STRATEGIC ACTION AGENDA
FISCAL YEARS 2008-2009
BACKGROUND
The nation has made huge investments in, and significant progress toward, controlling pollution
discharges and restoring environmental quality. Much of the credit for this success is due to EPA's use
of regulatory and enforcement tools, and to the transfer of significant resources from the federal
government to state and local governments to help construct environmental infrastructures.
Two trends challenge our ability to maintain and improve our standard of environmental quality. First,
needs and expectations for environmental protection continue to grow. Second, federal deficits, tax
reduction initiatives, and growing overall demands on state resources constrain traditional public sources
of environmental funding. The result is an increasing tension between the costs of environmental
protection and the resources available to meet those costs.
To address these environmental and resource challenges in a sustainable manner, EPA will need to
consider that full range of finance-related alternatives available. This effort will include traditional
regulatory and enforcement tools and federal assistance programs. It will also require innovative
projects and technologies, improved efficiencies, creative financing techniques, and leveraged public-
private partnerships.
The Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) and Environmental Finance Center (EFCN)
Network look to be and integral part of this EPA effort. EFAB is chartered under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act to advise EPA on environmental finance issues, options proposals, and trends. EFAB
seeks practical ways of lowering costs and increasing investments in public purpose environmental
facilities and services. The EFC Network consists of nine university-based programs that deliver
traditional and innovative financial outreach services to the regulated communities.
EFAB is supported by EPA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of Enterprise, Technology
and Innovation. The Chair of the Board is A. James Barnes, Professor of Public and Environmental
Affairs at Indiana University. EFAB's Designated Federal Official is A. Stanley Meiburg, National
EPA Liaison, Center for Disease Control. EFAB's plans and operation are aligned with the major
environmental goals presented in EPA's strategic plan.
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EPA GOALS AND EFAB ISSUES
EFAB's work is organized in support of the five major goals in EPA's Strategic Plan 2003-2008:
• Clean Air and Global Climate Change: Protect and improve the air so it is healthy to breathe
and risks to human health and the environment are reduced. Reduce green house gas intensity by
enhancing partnerships with businesses and other sectors.
• Clean and Safe Water: Ensure drinking water is safe. Restore and maintain oceans,
watersheds, and their aquatic systems to protect human health, support economic and
recreational activities, and provide healthy habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife.
• Land Preservation and Restoration: Preserve and restore the land by using innovative waste
management practices and cleaning up contaminated properties to reduce risks posed by releases
of harmful substances.
• Healthy Communities and Ecosystems: Protect, sustain, or restore the health of people.
communities, and ecosystems using integrated and comprehensive approaches and partnerships.
• Compliance and Environmental Stewardship: Improve environmental performance through
compliance with environmental requirements, preventing pollution, and promoting
environmental stewardship. Protect human health and the environment by encouraging
innovation and providing incentives for governments, businesses, and the public that
promote environmental stewardship.
In its own strategic planning process, EFAB annually applies these thematic EPA goals in the context of
the requirement in its charter to provide advice and recommendations on the following issues:
• Reducing the costs of financing environmental facilities and discouraging polluting
behavior;
• Creating incentives to increase private investment in the provision of environmental
services and removing or reducing constraints on private involvement imposed by current
regulations;
• Developing new and innovative environmental financing approaches and supporting and
encouraging the use of effective existing approaches;
• Identifying approaches specifically targeted to small community financing;
• Assessing government strategies for implementing public-private partnerships, including
privatization, operations and maintenance issues, and other alternative financing
mechanisms;
• Improving government principles of accounting and disclosure standards and how
they affect environmental programs;
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• Increasing the capacity of state and local governments to carry out their respective
environmental programs under current Federal tax laws;
• Increasing the total investment in environmental protection of public, and private
environmental resources to help ease the environmental financing challenge facing our
nations; and
• Removing barriers and increasing opportunities for the U.S. financial services and
environmental goods and services industries in other nations;
Based on these goals and objectives and input from the Agency, EFAB develops its Strategic Action
Agenda describing the workgroup structure and listing completed, ongoing, and new projects. Given
the number, scope, and nature of the issues, workgroups take the lead in developing projects for
consideration and approval by the Full Board.
CURRENT EFAB WORKGROUPS
^ Sustainable Watershed Financing: Chaired by Langdon Marsh, National Policy
Consensus Center, Portland State University, Portland, OR
^ Incentives for Air Emission Reduction: Chaired by Michael Curley, The International
Center for Environmental Finance, Towson, MD
^ Financial Assurance Mechanisms: Chaired by Mary Francoeur, Financial Guaranty
Insurance Co., New York, NY
^ Environmental Management Systems: Chaired by Rachel Deming, Scarola Ellis, LLP,
New York, NY
^ Leveraging the State Revolving Funds: Chaired by George Butcher, Goldman Sachs &
Co., New York, NY
^ Public-Private Partnerships: Chaired by John Boland: The Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD
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1. Sustainable Watershed Financing
EPA Strategic Goals: Clean and Safe Water and Healthy Communities &
Ecosystems
Primary Customer: Office of Water
2. Financial Assurance Mechanisms
EPA Strategic Goals: Land Preservation and Restoration and Compliance and
Environmental Stewardship
Primary Customers: Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response and
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
3.
Environmental Management Systems
EPA Strategic Goal: Cross-Cutting Strategy: Innovation
Primary Customer: Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation
4. Incentives for Air Emission Reduction
EPA Strategic Goals: Clean Air and Global Climate Change
Primary Customer: Office of Air and Radiation
5. Leveraging the State Revolving Funds
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean and Safe Water
Primary Customer: Office of Water
6. Public-Private Partnerships
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean and Safe Water
Primary Customer: Office of Water
STATUS OF EFAB PROJECTS
Completed Projects FY 2008
I
1. Innovative Finance Programs for Air Pollution Reduction, November 2007
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean Air and Global Climate Change
Primary Customer: Office of Air and Radiation
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Completed Projects FY 2007
I
1. Sustainable Watershed Financing, January 2007
EPA Strategic Goals: Clean and Safe Water and Healthy Communities &
Ecosystems
Primary Customer: Office of Water
2. Expanded Definition of State Revolving Fund Financial Assistance, January 2007
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean and Safe Water
Primary Customer: Office of Water
3. Captive Insurance as a Financial Assurance Mechanism, March 2007
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean and Safe Water
Primary Customer: Office of Water
4. Support for Private Activity Bonds Proposal, April 2007
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean and Safe Water
Primary Customer: Office of Water
5. Combined Sewer Overflows — Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and
Scheduled Development (1997), May 2007
EPA Strategic Goal: Clean and Safe Water
Primary Customer: Office of Water
This Strategic Action Agenda is a flexible planning tool and it will be updated during the fiscal
year as needed. All revisions will be shown on the Board's home page at:
http://www.epa.gov/efmpage/efab. htm
The spring meeting of the Full Board will he held March 10-11, 2008 in Washington, DC. The
primary purpose of this meeting is to hear from informed speakers on environmental finance
issues, proposed legislation, Agency priorities, and to discuss progress with current workgroup
projects.
EFAB members also contribute their time to assisting other EPA initiatives, most notably the
Environmental Finance Center (EFCN) Network. The EFC Directors serve as expert witnesses
to the Board and provide key assistance to EFAB. The home page for the EFC Network is:
http://www.epa.gov/efinpage/efc.htm
Your comments are important and welcome. Please call or e-mail Vanessa Bowie,
Environmental Finance Program, at (202) 564-5186 or bowie.vanessa.bowie@epa.gov
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